Britain will work to keep’ Durban III’ free of hate

The General Assembly voted overwhelmingly two weeks ago to hold a summit in New York, a decade after another UN event in the South African city of Durban descended into an Israel-bashing forum.

Israel and Canada have already announced that they would not take part in an event linked to the Durban process and there were calls for other countries to follow suit. But a foreign office spokesman told the Jewish News that the government will for the moment reserve judgement on whether to attend the summit, which has been dubbed Durban III.

“We have not yet made a decision on whether the UK will participate. We will work closely with partners to ensure the meeting addresses all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism, and does not provide a platform for the type of offensive rhetoric and behaviour that undermined the World Conference Against Racism in 2001 in Durban as well as the 2009 Durban Review Conference,” said the spokesman.

December 24, 2010 – New York – AJC expressed profound regret that the UN General Assembly voted to convene a special meeting next year commemorating the tenth anniversary of the discredited Durban conference on racism. The world gathering is slated to take place at the UN in New York in September, just days after the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York City and Washington, DC.

“The global campaign against racism has been hijacked by countries that have little regard for human rights and whose primary goal is to advance highly political agendas,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “To bring this traveling show of hatred to New York is scandalous and will not advance the noble UN mission of defending and protecting human rights.”

B’nai B’rith International condemns the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism. That event, in Durban, South Africa, was a forum overshadowed by rabid anti-Israel sentiment and deserves to be remembered as embodying the worst aspects of the United Nations.

The vote results included 104 nations in favor of the resolution, 22 against, and 33 abstentions.

New York, NY, December 24, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is calling on United Nations member states to declare that they will not participate in the so-called “Durban III” conference, set to be held in New York in September 2011, calling the proceedings “a conference that will undermine rather than advance the fight against discrimination.”

The U.N. General Assembly early this morning passed a resolution approving the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the infamous 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism, which was marred by anti-Semitism and extreme anti-Israel sentiment. The vote was 104 in favor, 22 against, with 33 abstentions.

Israel's response to UN resolution on "Combating racism and follow-up of the Durban Programme of Action" 25 Dec 2010

Israel regrets that a resolution on an important subject - elimination of racism - has been diverted and politicized by the automatic majority at the UN.
(Communicated by the MFA Spokesperson)

The UN General Assembly has adopted on December 24th a resolution on "Combating racism and follow-up of the Durban Programme of Action".

Israel is part of the international struggle against racism. The Jewish people was itself a victim of racism throughout history.

Israel regrets that a resolution on an important subject - elimination of racism - has been diverted and politicized by the automatic majority at the UN, by linking it to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (2001) that many states would prefer to forget. The Durban Conference of 2001, with its antisemitic undertones and displays of hatred for Israel and the Jewish World, left us with scars that will not heal quickly.

In the coming months, Israel will follow closely the preparations for the upcoming September 2011 meeting. Israel expects the participants to deal appropriately with the serious manifestations of racism throughout the world, and to reject attempts to once again divert world attention from this dangerous phenomenon by means of cheap politicization.

Under the present circumstances, as long as the meeting is defined as part of the infamous "Durban process", Israel will not participate in the meeting scheduled to take place in UN Headquarters in New York in September 2011.

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee’s passage of a resolution this evening authorizing the UN to hold a high-level meeting at its New York headquarters in September of 2011 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism (Durban I). The U.S., Israel, Canada, the United Kingdom, and 15 other Member States voted against and 35 abstained. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

“Durban I and Durban II were intended to fight bigotry, but were instead hijacked by extremists who turned them into anti-Western and anti-Semitic hate fests.

“The U.S. was right to walk out of Durban I and to not participate in Durban II, precisely because we sought to avoid legitimizing such intolerance. We should announce publicly, right now, that we will stay away from Durban III, deny it U.S. taxpayer dollars, and oppose all measures that seek to facilitate it. And we should encourage other responsible nations to do the same.”

Washington, DC – A bipartisan coalition of 18 U.S. Senators, led by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, today urged United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice to refrain from participating in the United Nation’s Durban III World Conference Against Racism, citing concerns that the conference will once again serve as a forum for anti-Semitic and anti-American demonstrations. The Senators also expressed disappointment with the United Nation’s decision to hold the conference in New York City on September 21st, 2011, just days after the tenth anniversary of the September 11thattacks.

“It is an insult to America that the United Nations has decided to hold the Durban III conference in New York City just days from the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks,”said Senator Gillibrand.“We all witnessed how extreme anti-Semitic and anti-American voices took over Durban I and Durban II and we should expect the same thing to happen with Durban III. I urge the Obama Administration to withdraw from the event and encourage other nations to do the same.”

Statement by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on the General Assembly Resolution Regarding "The Comprehensive Implementation of and Follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Program of Action"